‘5 a Day’

 

Studies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Introduction

 

1. Introduction

 

Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting, as it has been found difficult and left untried GK Chesterton

 

1.    Do you think that it is more difficult to live as a Christian in the modern world than it was for our parents and grandparents? Why / why not?

 

Take a moment to think about the world that you inhabit. If you don’t know each other very well this might be a good moment to take a couple of minutes each to describe one or two key aspects of your world to other members of the group.

 

2.    What are the forces which act to help you live as a Christian and what are the forces that seem to act to try to stop you?

 

Read Romans 7:15-23

3.    What experience does Paul describe here?

 

4.    To what extent do you find this to be true of your own experience?

 

Read Galatians 5:16-25

5.    Put what Paul describes as ‘the works of the flesh’ into your own words / experiences

 

6.    Why should we as Christians be demonstrating the characteristics listed as ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (vv22-23)?

 

How well do you do?

 

7.    One of the fruit of the Spirit is ‘self-control’. Can you see a tension here? What does this tell us about the way the Holy Spirit works in us?

 

Read this short extract

A baseball player who expects to excel in the game without adequate exercise of his body is no more ridiculous than the Christian who hopes to be able to act in the manner of Christ when put to the test without the appropriate exercise in godly living. Dallas Willard The Spirit of the Disciplines p5

 

Many Christians try to respond to difficult situations by reflecting on the question ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ (WWJD) This can be very helpful, but perhaps it is not just about what Jesus would do in response to particular difficult decisions / dilemmas. Perhaps it is more about asking the question ‘How Did Jesus Live to enable him to do what he did?’

 

8.    Reflect together on what the difference is between the questions, ‘what would Jesus do?’ and ‘how did Jesus live?’’

 

9.    Think together about Jesus’ life and the lives of his disciples as we see them recorded in the Gospels, the Book of Acts and the Epistles. What do we know about how they lived?

 

10.  What practical steps can we take to live more like Jesus did and to encourage one another to do the same?

 

Extension 1

Watch the Truman Show together (Rob has a copy)

  1. What does Truman base his decisions on in the first half of the film? How is his ability to make good choices limited?
  2. Are our decisions and choices limited? How?
  3. What did Truman need to see through the lies?
  4. How real do you think the temptation was not to go through the door in the set?
  5. How can we better enable ourselves to make good choices and decisions?

 

 

Extension 2

Hebrews 10:23-25

23Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

 

During his lifetime Jesus gathered together a group of followers who lived together learning to be his disciples. This was a pattern that continued after his death. In Acts and the Epistles we see evidence of Christians in community together with everything in common (see Acts 2)    From the 4th Century AD monastic communities began to spring up for people who felt God calling them to devote their lives to prayer. Many of these early monks were inclined to excess, while many others found it hard to maintain focus and keep to the commitment that they had made.

 

In the early 6th Century Benedict of Nursia drew a group of men around him who wanted to live faithfully to Jesus’ commands but knew that they struggled to do this on their own. To help them Benedict drew up a ‘rule of life’ for his followers. This is still in use by Benedictines today. Other religious communities and groups have also made use of a ‘rule of life’ to help themselves to be faithful.

 

You will find extracts from the Rule of St Benedict and from the Modern Iona Community Rule of Life in the appendix. Have a look at one or both of them.

 

  1. Why do you think that people living in Community would need a rule of life?

 

  1. What do you find intimidating other wise negative about each of them.

 

  1. In the midst of all that looks intimidating about Benedict’s rule can you see evidence of a softer hand at work (there was a tendency at that time for saints to out-do each other in their spiritual achievements)

 

  1. Are there ways in which you could see that such a rule of life might be helpful for people who do not live in a monastery or religious community?

 

  1. Spend some time thinking about what you might what to include in a ‘Rule of Life’ that might prove helpful for you in the life that you lead.

 

Appendix

 

1. Extracts from the Rule of St Benedict

In every aspect all shall follow the Rule as their guide: and let no one depart from it without good reason. Let no one in the monastery follow his own inclinations, or brazenly argue with his abbot ... The abbot, for his part, should do everything in the fear of the Lord and in obedience to the Rule, knowing that he will have to account to God for all his decisions….

 

The brothers shall take turns to wait on each other so that no one is excused from kitchen work, unless prevented by sickness or taken up with some vital business ... An hour before each meal the week's servers are to receive a cup of drink and a piece of bread over and above their ration, so that they can wait on their brothers without grumbling or undue fatigue.

 

At the brothers' meal times there should always be a reading ... There shall be complete silence at table, and no whispering or any voice except the reader's should be heard.

The brethren should pass to each other in turn whatever food is needed so that no one needs to ask for anything. If anything should be wanted, ask for it by sign-language rather than by speech.

 

Above all, care must be taken of the sick ... Baths should be available to the sick as often as necessary: to the healthy, and especially the young, less often. The eating of meat shall also be allowed to the sick and the delicate to aid recovery. But when they have got better, they shall all abstain from flesh, as is normal.

 

In winter, that is from 1 November until Easter, as far as possible they must get up at the eighth hour of the night, so that they rest for a little over half the night, and rise when they have had a good sleep. But the time that remains after 'vigils' shall be spent in study ...

 

As the prophet says, 'Seven times in the day do I praise thee.' We will complete this sacred number seven if, at lauds, at the first, third, sixth, ninth hours, at vesper time and at compline we carry out the duties of our service.

 

Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, at fixed times, the brothers should be busy with manual work; and at other times in holy reading. We believe these ought to be arranged in this way: from Easter until 1 October, on coming out of Prime they shall do the work needing attention until the fourth hour. From the fourth hour until about the sixth, they should concentrate on reading. After the meal on the sixth hour, they shall rest on their beds in complete silence; anyone who wishes may read to himself as long as he does not disturb anyone else. None shall be said a little early, about the middle of the eighth hour; after that they shall work at their tasks until evening.

 

A mattress, woolen blanket, woolen under-blanket, and a pillow shall be enough bedding. Beds are to be searched frequently by the abbot for private belongings. And, if anyone is found to possess anything he did not receive from the abbot, he shall be very severely disciplined. To abolish private property everything necessary shall be given by the abbot: a hood, tunic, shoes, long socks, belt, knife, pen, needle, handkerchief, tablets, so that they can have no excuses about needing things.

 

A monastery should, if possible, be built so that everything needed-water, mill, garden, bakery-is available, so that the monks do not need to wander about outside. For this is not at all good for their souls.

 

We intend to found a school to train men in the service of the Lord, but where we shall not make the rules too strict and heavy ... If we seem to be severe, do not get frightened and run away. The entrance to the path of salvation must be narrow, but as you progress along the life of the Faith, the heart expands and speeds with love's sweetness along the pathway of God's commandments.

 

 

The Rule of the Iona Community

Our five-fold Rule calls us to:
1. Daily Prayer And Bible Reading We are asked to pray for each other, for our common concerns, and for the wider work of the church, on a daily basis. We are also asked to read the Bible on a regular and frequent basis.

2. Sharing and Accounting For The Use Of Our Money 
a. We are asked, first, to account to each other for the use of our income. 
b. We are then asked, in Family Groups, to agree our individual baseline commitments and special circumstances and expenses: thus arriving at a personal disposable income figure from which the amount to be given (a tithe - 10% in most cases) can be deducted. 
c. The amount to be given should be divided up as follows: 
i. To the wider work of the Church, and to bodies concerned with promoting justice and peace, world development, etc - 60% 
ii. to the work of the Iona Community - 20% 
iii. to purposes decided by the Family Group - 10% 
iv. to purposes decided by the Common Fund Trustees on behalf of the Community - 5% 
v. to the Travel Pool - 5% 

3. Planning and Accounting For The Use Of Our Time 
This discipline seems to have its origins in the early days of the Community, when craftsmen doubted the ability of ministers to work an eight-hour 'shift'! Through it, we are all asked to plan our time, in such a way that proper 'weighting' is given, not simply to work, but equally to leisure, to time for family, to developing skills or acquiring new ones, to worship and devotion, to voluntary work - and to sleep! 

4. Action for Justice And Peace In Society 
Our act of commitment on justice and peace is, as was also said of the earlier Act of Commitment on Peace, 'a point of departure'. It will remain no more than a pious hope (and a false witness) unless we seek, separately and together, to put it into practice. 

Justice and Peace Commitment 
We believe: 
1. that the Gospel commands us to seek peace founded on justice and that costly reconciliation is at the heart of the Gospel; 
2. that work for justice, peace and an equitable society is a matter of extreme urgency; 
3. that God has given us partnership as stewards of creation and that we have a responsibility to live in a right relationship with the whole of God's creation; 
4. that, handled with integrity, creation can provide for the needs of all, but not for the greed which leads to injustice and inequality, and endangers life on earth; 
5. that everyone should have the quality and dignity of a full life that requires adequate physical, social and political opportunity, without the oppression of poverty, injustice and fear; 
6. that social and political action leading to justice for all people and encouraged by prayer and discussion, is a vital work of the Church at all levels; 
7. that the use or threatened use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction is theologically and morally indefensible and that opposition to their existence is an imperative of the Christian faith. 

As Members and Family Groups we will: 
8. engage in forms of political witness and action, prayerfully and thoughtfully, to promote just and peaceful social, political and economic structures; 
9. work for a British policy of renunciation of all weapons of mass destruction and for the encouragement of other nations, individually or collectively, to do the same; 
10. celebrate human diversity and actively work to combat discrimination on grounds of age, colour, disability, mental wellbeing, differing ability, gender, colour, race, ethnic and cultural background, sexual orientation or religion; 
11. work for the establishment of the United Nations Organisation as the principal organ of international reconciliation and security, in place of military alliances; 
12. support and promote research and education into non-violent ways of achieving justice, peace and a sustainable global society; 
13. work for reconciliation within and among nations by international sharing and exchange of experience and people, with particular concern for politically and economically oppressed nations. 

5. Meeting with and Accounting to Each Other 
We are asked to do this 
a) In Family Groups 
b) In Plenaries